One of the most frustrating things for me every year is how to keep a clean edge around my flower beds. It seems that whatever I try always ends up being overgrown by grass or weeds or the very plants that are in that particular bed. I use a lawn edger tool and it works great and looks wonderful for the first week or so but the edge of the bed inevitably gets completely lost under all of the growth to the point that I have no idea where the actualy edge is. I feel like I've missed a crucial lesson in edging somewhere along the way and everyone seems to know what the trick is but me!

I live on a farm with lots and lots of lawn - I keep trying to make my lawn smaller and my flower beds bigger, but the lawn is winning!

So what do you use use for an edge? Do you use materials, like stone or brickwork? raised beds? railway ties? stones? grass with a clean edge?

Pepper! I use a regular half moon shaped edger. I make sure the cut is down as deep as the top of the edger, about 5 inches. I also have about a 5 inch trench around each bed. It works well. I edge only Spring and Fall. I think the trick is edging down deep a ways. Good luck

What I started to do last year is take a walk each couple of days and make sure all the edging are still cleaned and weed free. It takes me 10 minutes, twice or three times a week. I use a cheap garden hoe that I have bent almost straight. The little angle that is left allows me to stay on the lawn and not have to be right over the edge.

I use the half moon shaped thing too - dig way down and wide. Works well even though I only do it in the spring. This year I've noticed there is very little to deal with so should be an easy time of it.
Cath

If two loaves of bread are all you have left, you ahould sell one and buy hyacinths to feed your soul.........Arabic proverb

thanks everyone - my problem isn't so much the tool I used (I use the half moon gizmo thingy too) but rather in keeping the edge clean, seems grass grows over it so quickly, I'd have to re-edge almost every week. Is that what everyone ends up doing?

I have that plastic edging stuff with a rolled top between my lawns and the flower & shrub beds. The grass will still jump it & get into the beds. I then take my half moon edger, sharpen it on the grinder & go along the edging on the bed side & slice off the stray lawn that has worked its way into the beds. Usually do this once a year in the spring. At the same time I take the same half moon edger & cut the lawn overgrowth down the sides of the concrete driveway & front sidewalks. That too is a once a year job.